Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: manic_meezer on 28/08/2008 10:42:06
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My story is thus: a relative of mine has high cholesterol and has been given medication and various dietary no go's. The dietary regime was executed on a gradual basis and all was going well, the c levels were on a decline.
This was until a recent visit to the GP where they were told cholesterol was very high and medication was to be increased. As a concerned relative and someone who feels patients are treated more like cattle than humans by our Health service, I decided to investigate this sudden jump.
I cannot prove this and it is just a theory, but the last item removed from the diet was the twice daily egg, which was banished to a treat on a sunday. Now,The humble egg was the one the GP emphasised should be cut out totally. Yet, from my (and i am not a medical doctor) research it seems that maybe this Hen giving wonder was actually helping reduce cholesterol.
I have surfed for the answer and do get conflicting stories. I must stress my research goes no further than paperwork, reintroducing eggs into their diet would be against medical advice, but what if that advice is wrong.
Has anyone any comments on this, as it would be good to arm my relative with some facts before their next GP visit.
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Welcome manic_meezer.
I can't answer you definitively but just want to wish you well with your investigation.
Everything I have ever known about cholesterol, with regard to eggs,is that it's the yolk in the egg where all the badness is. What your proposing does seem to defy what is generally accepted but I do hope that an expert will pop in with an opinion.
Oh my !...wouldn't it be fantastic if eggs were in fact good for lowering it ! ?
Good luck.
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It's an annoying fact for many people that the body produces most of it's own cholesterol. Even if there were none in the diet the body would make it.
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There are two types of cholesterol: good and bad, check this: (Moderator's comment - please do not link to commercial sites - for information on cholesterol types please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercholesterolemia#Diagnosis for a BEGINNING discussion on cholesterol types)
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One large egg has about 186 mg of cholesterol — all of which is found in the yolk. Therefore, if you eat an egg on a given day, it's important to limit other sources of cholesterol for the rest of that day. Consider substituting servings of vegetables for servings of meat, or avoid high-fat dairy products for that day.
If you like eggs but don't want the extra cholesterol, use only the egg whites. Egg whites contain no cholesterol. You may also use cholesterol-free egg substitutes, which are made with egg whites. I would advise to search more information on how to lower cholesterol (http://loweringcholesterolguide.com/how-to-lower-cholesterol/)
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The most recent medical opinion is that unless you have a problem with cholesterol metabolism (e.g. liver disease), there is no problem with eggs. The British Heart Foundation says "For most people there is currently no limit on the number of eggs that you can eat in a week. However, because the recommendation has changed over the years, it's often a common source of confusion".
See this thread (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=45229.new;topicseen#new).